Apparatus for imparting reciprocatory motion



Jan. 21, 1964 A. R. LACASSE 3,118,628

APPARATUS FOR IMPARTING RECIPROCATORY MOTION Filed Dec. 23, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG. 1 FIGZ IN VEN TOR. ADP/[IV R. lflClSSE' Jan. 21, 1964 A. R. LACASSE 3,113,623

APPARATUS FOR IMPARTING RECIPROCATORY MOTION Filed Dec. 23, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 l k K! 4 4% 70 INVENTOR.

. 'IO\ [02 nae/51v e. 4.401.555

United States Patent 3,118,628 APPARATUS BOB lMPARTING RECIPROCATQRY MOTION Adrien R. Lacasse, Shelby, N.C., assignor to Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company, Pittsburgh, Pa, a corporation of Pennsylvania Filed Dec. 23, 1960, Ser. No. 78,178 7 Claims. (Cl. 242-43) This invention relates to a power mechanism for the traversing of strands, fibers, yarns and the like and it has particular relation to the high-speed traversing of thermoplastic, continuous filament strands such as glass fiber strands as they are wound on a tube during their formation.

The invention will be described with respect to the production of continuous filament glass fiber strands and the particular problems encountered in such production, but it is to be understood that the high-speed traversing mechanism of the present invention is suitable for the traversing of any kind of twisted or untwisted strand or yarn. In the production of continuous filament glass fiber strand, a number of individual glass filaments are drawn from a bushing containing a molten supply of glass. The glass passes through orifices in the bushing and forms cones of glass at the tips of the orifices. The individual filaments are drawn from the cones of glass at a high rate of speed, i.e. 5,000 to 20,000 feet per minute and are grouped into a strand as they pass over a suitable guide. The strand is thereafter wound on a rapidly rotating forming tube.

There is no twist in the strand as it is thus formed and a size composed of a binder and a lubricant is applied to the filaments prior to the winding of the strand on the tube in order to bond them together and maintain the integrity of the strand. It is desired that the strand be Wound on the tube so that succeeding turns cross each other at an angle rather than in a parallel, level Wind so that the strand can be more easily removed from the tube. If a parallel, level wind is used, the untwisted strand is very difiicult to remove. Filaments from one turn of strand become entangled with filaments of an adjacent turn of strand and become broken. When the individual filaments of the strand become broken, succeeding turns of the strand become entangled and it soon becomes extremely difficult to unwind the strand and remove it from the tube.

Thus, it is desirable that the strand have imparted to it a rapid traverse for changing the angle of deposit for each succeeding turn around the forming tube as the strand is distributed slowly throughout the length of the forming tube. The slow traverse or primary traverse of the strand from one end of the tube ot the other may be accomplished by be slow movement of the forming tube and/ or the traversing mechanism relative to each other in a line parallel to the axis of the forming tube. The rapid traverse or secondary traverse is applied by a high-speed traversing mechanism. It is also contemplated that the throw of the rapid traverse can be of sufiicient length that it travels the length of the forming package and in this case only a rapid traverse is employed.

The spiral Wire traverse shown in US. Patent No. 2,391,870 has been used for applying a rapid or secondary traverse to a glass fiber strand as it is Wound on a forming tube. In operation, a pair of conical, spiral, wire cams mounted on a rotating shaft of the traverse cause the strand to be positively moved along the length of the forming tube and returned by successive engagernent of the strand with the cams as the shaft rotates. As the strand reaches the end of one cam, its motion is interrupted as it is contained with the other cam and it is "ice immediately started on its return movement to the other end of the other cam. This change or transfer of the strand from one cam to another has been observed to be quite abrupt and the strand undergoes a physical beating upon this transfer from one cam to the other. Sometimes the cams become sprung during operation and the strand is held momentarily at the end of the traverse and then springs back abruptly. The beating and abrupt changes in direction have caused breakage of some of the filaments. As soon as a few of the filaments become roken, the drawing operation usually is interrupted.

The spiral Wire traverse exerts considerable tension on the strand as it forces it back and forth across the face of the forming package. The amount of tension changes from a maximum to a minimum and returns repeatedly as the wire cams engage the strand successively. This is due to the fact that the traversing is not carried out in a single plane but in a multiplicity of positions which vary in distance from an imaginary plane extending between the gathering guide and the edge of the forming tube. The variations in tension cause variations in yarn diameter during the drawing.

The tension also has tendency to flatten out the strand on the forming package, particularly so with the larger diameter strands. A fiat strand is undesirable for several reasons. When it is twisted into a yarn and Woven into a fabric, it presents an irregular appearance to the yarn in the fabric. It is difficult to fabricate the flat strand into roving or twisted yarn because the individual filaments tend to break more readily and create fuzzy roving or yarn. The fuzzy roving or yarn is undesirable for it clogs the fabricating equipment and causes breakage of the roving or yarn during the fabricating step. It has been found necessary in the past to put the flattened yarn through a steaming operation prior to further fabrication. This softens the binder in the size on the yarn and permits the individual filaments to reorient themselves in the strand and produce a round strand when the strand is unwound from the forming tube.

In the formation of glass fiber strands, it is often desirable to group the filaments drawn from a bushing into two or more separate strands and wind them separately on a forming tube. The individual strands should preferably be maintained separate at all times as they are wound on the forming tube, for it is then much easier to remove them from the forming tube for subsequent fabrication. The spiral wire traverse as shown in the patent causes the individual strands to be joined or overlap each other as they are reversed in direction and transferred from one cam to the other cam. The strands are thereby bonded to or entangled with each other at the points of crossing and are dir'ficult to unwind from the forming tube.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a traverse mechanism for rapidly traversing a strand in a single plane as it is Wound at a high rate of speed on a tube so as not to impart substantial changes in tension on the strand and consequent changes in diameter of the strand during the winding. It is a further object of the invention to provide a traverse mechanism which exerts a minimum of tension on the strand and which produces a change in direction of the strand at the end of its traverse without unduly subjecting the strand to a physical beating. It is an additional object of the invention to provide a traversing mechanism which tends to produce a round strand rather than a fiat strand. It is also an object of the invention to provide a traversing mechanism which will traverse two or more strands separately as they are Wound on a single tube and maintain the strands separate on the tube. It is an additional object of the invention to provide a traverse mechanism which is easy and inexpensive to make, maintain and operate.

2 u These and other objects of the invention are accomplished by means of a fluid actuated traverse in which a strand guide mounted on a piston is driven rapidly back and forth in a line parallel to the axis or" the winding tube as the piston is rapidly reciprocated in a cylinder. The piston is rapidly reciprocated in the cylinder by continuously supplying a fluid such as air at superatmospheric pressure to the ends of the cylinder and rapidly establishing and changing fluid pressure differentials on opposite sides of the piston in the cylinder. The invention and its method of operation can be more fully understod by reference to the description of the drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic elevation of a glass fiber forming apparatus including the traverse mechanism of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an elevation, partly in section, of the traverse mechanism of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a view in section taken along lines III-III of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary elevation illustrating a further embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIGS. 2 and FIG. 5 is an elevation, partly in section, of another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 6 is a view in section taken along lines VIVI of FIG. 5 and illustrating the method of mounting the traverse mechanism;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary view of another embodiment of the invention shown in FIGS. 5 and 6;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged fragmentary view of another embodiment of the invention shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4;

FIG. 9 is an end view of the embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 5 illustrating its method of mounting in conjunction with glass fiber forming apparatus;

FIG. 10 is an elevation, partly in section of a further embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 11 is a view in section taken along lines XIXI of FIG. 10.

In FIG. 1 of the drawing there is shown a glass melting furnace 10 or forehearth thereof containing a supply of 'molten glass 11 and having a resistance heated, platinum alloy bushing 13 attached to the bottom of the furnace or forehearth. The bushing 13 is provided with a series of orifices in the form of tips 14 through which molten glass flows. The glass forms in small cones 15 suspended from the tips 14. The tips are usually arranged in a number of rows, for example, 4 to 2G or more rows having a great many tips in each row so that the total number of tips is about 260 to 400 or more in number. A smaller or greater number of tips may be present in the bushing.

Glass filaments 16 are pulled from the cones 15' at a very high rate of speed, i.e. 5,000 to 20,000 feet per minute and wound on a rapidly rotating forming tube 18 which is mounted on a suitable support 2% and driven by suitable means such as a motor (not shown) also mounted on the support 2%. The glass filaments are grouped into a strand 22 as they pass over a guide 24- prior to their being wound on the tube 18. Usually a size containin a liquid binder and a lubricant such as a combination of starch and vegetable oil or synthetic latex and mineral oil are applied to the filaments in the strand as they pass over a rotating roller 56 which is mounted for rotation in a pool of the size contained in a reservoir 28.

As the strand 22 is wound on the tube 18, it is rapidly traversed by means of the traverse 3b of the present invention. The strand is distributed along the length of the tube 1-3 as it is being traversed by the traversing mechanism 39 by relative movement between the tube 13 and the traversing mechanism 39. This relative movement maybe accomplished by reciprocating the tube axially and/ or reciprocating the traverse in a line parallel with the axis of the tube.

The traversing mechanism 3% as shown in more detail in FIGS. 2 to 4 iscomposed or" a guide 32 mounted on a piston 34 which moves rapidly back and forth in cylinder 36 in a line which is parallel with the axis of the tube 13. The guide 32 extends through a slit or opening 33 in the wall of the tube 36. The opening 33 extends parallel to the axis of the cylinder 36 along one side thereof for a length which is greater than the distance through which the guide 32 is to travel, but which is not as great as the length of the cylinder 36. The guide 32 as shown in these figures is in the form of two wires 33 which extend perpendicularly from the piston 34 and are spaced in an axial direction sufficiently to permit a strand to be inserted and ride between them. The outer portions of the wires 33 are bent away from each other to facilitate the insertion of the strand between the wires. The guide 32 may also take other forms, such as a pigtail, which are conventional for guides in the textile art.

The piston 3d and guide 32 attached thereto are moved back and forth in the cylinder 36 by means of differentials in pressure which are rapidly established and changed. The piston 34 is shorter in length than the slot or opening 38 and this means that at least one side of the piston is always exposed to the atmosphere. When the piston is centrally located in the cylinder 36, both ends are exposed to the atmosphere and the piston is at rest. 7

Hi h pressure air, for example, pounds per square inch, is led to both ends of the cylinder 36 through line as. The air at this pressure is carried to both ends of the cylinder from line 41) by means of line 42 which connects to chambers 43 and 45 at the ends of the cylinder 3s. The air is admitted to the interior ofi cylinder 36 from chamber 43 by means of a small opening 47 in a plate 48 located between the chamber 43 and the end of the cylinder 36. The air is admitted to the opposite end of the cylinder from the chamber 45 through a small opening 49 which passes through plate 5% mounted between the cylinder and the chamber 4-5. The plates 48 and 50 may be merely the ends of the cylinder 36. The openings 47 and 49 are smaller in diameter than the inside diameter of the cylinder. For example, the openings 47 and 49 may be about .030 inch in diameter and the diameter of the cylinder about .250 inch.

To start the traversing mechanism, air is admitted under pressure through the lines it) and 42 so that it passes through the chambers 43 and 45 and the orifices 47 and 4% into the cylinder 36 at each end. The guide 32 and piston 34 are then moved toward either end of the cylinder by manually pushing the guide 32 in that direction. As soon as the piston 34 passes one end of the slot 33 so as to close the opening between one end of the cylinder and the a.n1osphere, the pressure in that end of the cylinder begins to build up and becomes greater than atmospheric pressure. This high pressure stops the motion of the piston and pushes it in the opposite direction toward the other end of the cylinder because the pressure of the air at the two ends of the cylinder is then diiferent. This same procedure is followed as the piston moves toward the other end of the cylinder.

The high pressure air in the ends of the cylinder 36 acts as a cushion to first stop the movement of the piston as it moves toward that end of the cylinder and then smoothly reverse its motion to project it towards the other end of the cylinder. This procedure is repeated very rapidly so as to impart a reciprocating motion to the piston 34 and the guide 32 attached to it. The number of cycles per minute which can be accomplished by this procedure depends upon the air pressure applied to the ends of the cylinder 36, upon the weight of the guide and piston and upon the length of the stroke desired.

In FIG. 4 there is illustrated another embodiment of the invention wherein two strands can be traversed and wound separately and simultaneously on a single winding tube. This is accomplished by means of guide 53 whicn is composed of three wires 55, 56 and 57 which extend perpendicularly from piston and are spaced from each other in an axial direction with respect to the piston. The central wire 56 extends straight out while the outer wires 55 and S7 bend outwardly away from the central wire 56 at their extremities so as to facilitate insertion of two separate strands 22. The two separate strands can be drawn from a single bushing by dividing the filaments into two groups and passing the groups over two gathering guides before passing them through traversing guide 53.

It can be seen that the guides 32 and 53 exert no pressure on the strand 22 in a direction toward the winding tube. The only pressure and tension exerted on the strand is exerted in a plane or line that is parallel to the axis of the winding tube. This pressure is not great and consequently there is very little tension and very slight change in tension applied to the strand as it passes over the traversing guide. This results in uniformity of fiber forming conditions and fiber diameter and a high level of forming efficiency, i.e., a large percentage of calldowns. A call-down is a complete fiber forming run without interruption.

Another embodiment of the invention is illustrated in FIGS. 5, 6 and 9. FIG. 5 illustrates a different type of pneumatic traverse 59, and FIG. 9 illustrates how the traverse 59 is mounted with respect to the winding tube 13. In this embodiment of the invention, a strand guide 69 is in the form or" a cylinder made of graphite, molybdenum. disulfide or other lubricating material and a binder therefor or a thermosettin resin such as phenol or urea formaldehyde, and the strand path is defined on the periphery of the cylindrical guide by means of a smoothly rounded groove 62 extending around the periphery of the guide. The guide 6% has projections 64 at both ends which may be cylindrical in shape or have another shape suitable for fitting or keying into the ends of two separate cylindrical piston sections 66 and 68 which are positioned in cylinder 7%. The diameter of the groove $2 is less than the outside diameter of the piston sections 66 and 63. A slot or opening 72 is present in the wall of the cylinder "it? so as to permit contact of the strand with the peripheral grooved surface 62 of the guide. The length of the piston sections 66 and 63, together with the guide fill, is greater than the length of the slot or opening 72 in the side of the cylinder 79. The length of the opening "72 is greater than that distance through which the guide 62 is desired to travel but the opening 72 does not extend the complete length of the side of the cylinder 79. The piston, cylinder and opening 72 are dimensioned so that the ends of the piston (or piston section) never enter or come opposite to the opening.

The differential in pressure in this embodiment is created by openings 75 arid 76 in the wall of the cylinder 79. These openings are spaced from the center of the cylinder and located near the ends of the cylinder. They may be on the same side of the cylinder as the opening 72 or they may be on the opposite side so that the air discharged from them is not directed toward the winding tube. The latter location may be preferred if there is any tendency for the discharged air to disturb the strand wound on the forming package or deposit dirt upon it. The air exhaust can also be piped away and/or muffled by enclosing the exhaust openings 75 and 76 if desired. High pressure air is directed to the ends of the cylinder '70 through line 122 to chambers 81 and 82 located adjacent each end of the cylinder 7%). The air pressure in the chambers 81 and 82 is the same since these chambers are connected by line 84 which carries the air from chamber 81 to chamber 82. The air in the cylinder escapes from the cylinder depending upon whether or not the piston sections are in position to close openings 75 or 76. The difference in pressure on the opposite ends of the piston sections propels the piston sections and guide back and forth. The placement of the openings 75 and 76 and the length of the piston sections determines the length of the traverse stroke.

The traverse shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 is different from that shown in FIGS. 2 to 4 in that the guide 60 can rotate as the strand passes over it and thus a new guiding sunface is continually available to the strand. This prevents the wearing of a groove in the guide and permits longer use of the guide without changing it because of wear to the guidhirg surface. This rotating motion can be aided by means of the air which is directed against the end of the piston ections 66 and 68 by directing air into the ends of the cylinder in a cyclone or whirling motion. This can be done by arranging the inlets at the ends of the cylinder to direct the air into the cylinder at an angle to the axis of the cylinder so that the air tends to travel in a spiral path along the length of the cylinder from the ends toward the outlets 75 and 76. As shown in FIG. 5, the air enters the ends of the cylinder through plates 96 and 91 and thereafter turns at a right angle in passageways 94 and 95 respectively so that it issues from these passageways towards the inside wall of the cylinder rather than towards the ends of the piston sections 66 and 63. This imparts a rotating movement to the piston sections 66 and 68 and guide 60 as they move bacx and forth in the cylinder 7t). This rotating movement can be further enhanced by means of vanes $8 and 99 which are mounted on the ends of the sections 66 and 68 of the piston. The passageways 94 and 95 have a smaller cross-sectional area than the cross-sectional area of the interior of the cylinder 70.

A guide 160, which is similar to guide 69, is shown in enlarged form in FIG. 7. The guide Hill has two separate smoothly rounded grooves 1M and 102 so that two separate strands 22 can be traversed simultaneously. Obviously, a greater number of strands can be accommodated by providing more grooves. The projections 166 on the guide 1% are fitted into the matching indentations in the ends of the piston sections 65 and 68 as in the case of guide 60.

During operation of the traverse, the sections 66 and 68 always tend to move toward each other so that the guide 6% or 1% is held in place. When the guide is to be removed, the traverse is stopped and the sections are merely moved apart by hand and the guide removed. A new guide is inserted into the recessed or indented portion of one or the other of the sections 66 and 68 and the other section is then moved into place to hold the guide between the two sections. This provides a very simple method of changing guides 6t) and 1th; in the traverse.

The same principle for holding the guide can be applied to a guide such as shown in the embodiment in FIGS. 2 and 3. This application is shown in PK 8 wherein the guide 197 having guide bars 198 and lit-9 extending perpendicularly from its side is mounted between sections ll l and 112 of a piston which reciprocates in a cylinder such as cylinder 36 of the embodiment shown in FIG. 2. The guide N7, of course, does not rotate as the guide 69, but rather merely moves back and forth as does guide 32.

Although guides 6t and 109 are shown and described as separate elements in combination with the piston section 66 and 68, it should be understood that the guide and pistons can be just one element such as a cylindrical piston whose periphery is grooved or otherwise adapted for guiding a strand. When used in the claims, the terminology a cylindrical piston or element having means on its periphery to guide a strand or similar language is intended to cover both structures as well as the guide and piston assembly shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4.

The guide 60 in the embodiment of FIGS. 5 and 6 must be mounted so that the-re is a slight amount of tension on the strand as it passes over the guide. This keeps the strand in the groove 62 as the guide moves back and forth. The method of mounting the traverse shown in FIG. 5 with relation to the winding tube 18 is shown in FIG. 9. Here the traverse 59 of FIG. 5 is shown as extending perpendicularly from one end of a support 12% which is pivotally mounted at its other end at 7.22 to the supporting frame 20 for the winder. This permits the traverse to be moved laterally in an arc toward and away from the strand 22 passing from guide 24 to the Winding tube 18. A counterweight 124 is mounted on the support 12% so as to tend to move the end of the support 120 carrying the traverse 59 in a direction towards the strand 22 thereby exerting slight tension on the strand as it passes through the groove 62, on its way to the fonning tube 18.

The tension which is desired to be applied to the strand in this arrangement is only that which is sufiicient to hold the strand in the "guide 60. It can be seen that as the winding of'the strand 22 is continued and the diarneter of the package on the tube 18- is increased, increased tension would be applied to the strand if the traverse 59 were mounted in a stationary position. The pivotal mounting of the traverse 59', however, permits the support arm 120 to rotate and maintain the tension constant at only the minimum amount required for keeping the strand in the guide. Thus, an automatic tension control is provided for the traverse 59. Other means for urging the traverse 59 towards the strand 22 at constant, minimum tension may be employed.

A further embodiment of the invention is shown in FIGS. and 11. in this embodiment a traverse 1355 similar to traverse 59 is shown. The main difference is concerned with the strand guiding surface since the motive elements of the traverse 1%) are the same as those of traverse 59. Cylindrical piston sections 132 and 13 are mounted in cylinder 7%- for reciprocatory movement therein. The piston sections are made of a laminated melamine or phenolic resin material such as sold under the trade name ldicarta by the Westinghouse Electric Company. The piston sections 132. and 13% are joined together by a l inch diameter brass wire 1% which serves to hold the meeting faces of the piston sections in spaced (about inch) relation.

in this embodiment the strand 22 rides between the meeting faces of the piston sections 132 and 134 but does not ride against the wire 136. The strand is held away from t e wire 2 .36 by means of a bar 138 which is mounted on the cylinder 7% just above the piston sections and in the pathof the strand 22 so that the strand rides over the surface of the bar 13? as it passes from the strand gathering guide 24 on its way to the winding tube 38. The bar 138 may also be :made or Micarta. The bar 138 is held on the cylinder 70 by means of a pair of spring clips 140 which snap around the bar and cylinder. The strand 22 tends to flatten out slig .tly as it passes over the bar 133 under slight tension; however, it is pushed back into rounded relation as it is pushed back and :forth by the meeting faces of the piston sections 132 and 134; The combination of forces tends to produce a round strand. The piston sections 132 and 134 are provided with vanes similar to vanes 98 and 9? so that the piston sections rotate axially as they reciprocate in the cylinder. This prevents wearing or cutting of grooves in the meeting faces of the piston sections. Otherwise the traverse 130 operates the same as traverse 59.

The operation of the several embodiments of the invention is dependent on several factors. The length of the stroke is determined in part by the length of the cylinder and the length of the piston. If a longer traverse throw is desired, the length of the cylinder is increased and/ or the length of the piston is decreased. The number of cycles per minute of the traverse guide is dependent upon the air pressure imparted against the ends of the pistons carrying the guide and upon the weight of the pistons and guide as well as the length of the traverse throw. As typical examples of the operation of the guide shown in 5, a guide and piston assembly weighing 1 /2 grams can be made to move through a 3% inch stroke with 90 pounds per square inch pressure in chambers 43 and 45 at 5,000 cycles per minute. In another example a piston and guide assembly weighing 1 /1 grams can be made to move through a inch stroke at 20,000 cycles per minute with 90 pounds per square inch pressure in chambers 43 and 45. it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that many variations in traverse length and cycles per minute can be made by varying the size, weight and location of the various components or" the traverse and varying the pressure of the air supplied to the traverse.

The present invention permits the traversing of a glass fiber strand during its formation in a single plane with a minimum of tension on the strand. The traversing is done smoothly without administering a physical heating to the strand. The strand produced is round and not flat and it need not be steamed to produce roundness as above described. Two or more strands can be wound separately on a forming tube without crossing each other during the same turn around the tube. The traversing of the strand is done with a minimum amount of movement of mechanical parts and excellent control of the traversing is maintained at all times. A variety of package builds can be obtained with simple control changes. The traversing mechanism is easy and inexpensive to make, operate and maintain.

The basic concept of developing reciprocatory motion of a piston in a cylinder by continuous flow of a fluid such as air against the ends of the piston has been described with respect to its relation to the traversing of a strand of material. It is also contemplated that this motion be adapted to provide power for other applications. For example, the traverse 59 shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 may simply be used as a homogenizer when placed in an oil and water mixture to form a stable emulsion of the oil and water. The oil and water have been observed to move in and out of the openings 75 and 76 in the cylinder \as the piston sections reciprocate and the shear forces exerted on the mixture serve to homogenize and emulsify the mixture. Other applications wherein a rapid reciprocatory motion is required can be readily visualized.

Although the present invention has been described with respect to specific details of certain embodiments thereof, it is not intended that such details serve as limitations upon the scope of the invention except insofar as set forth in the accompanying claims. 7

I clairn: 1

1. Apparatus for imparting vibratory motion which comprises a hollow cylinder having open ends providing access to said cylinder, an air supplychamber at each end of said cylinder connected to the adjacent opening therein, a plate at each end of said cylinder between said cylinder and said air supply chamber extending across the opening therebetween, a piston positioned in the cylinder for reciprocatory movement therein, each of said plates having formed therein a fluid inlet passage of a diameter substantially smaller than that of the adjacent end of the cylinder, means for continuously directing a fluid at super-atmospheric pressure into each of said chambers and [through the inlets in said plates adjacent the ends of the cylinder toward the ends of the piston to maintain a pressure differential between each chamber and the adjacent region in said cylinder between each plate and the adjacent end or" the piston, and axially spaced outlets positioned in the wall of the cylinder intermediate the fluid inlet passages so as to be alternately opened and closed by the piston as it moves back and tooth in the cylinder.

2. Apparatus for traversing a strand which comprises a hollow cylinder having open ends providing access to said cylinder, an air supply chamber at each end of said cylinder con ected to the adjacent opening therein, a plate at each end of said cylinder between said cylinder and said air supply chamber extending across the opening therebetween and said cylinder having an opening extending along one side of the cylinder, a piston positioned in the cylinder for movement therein, a yarn guide integral with the piston, each of said plates having formed therein a fluid inlet passage of a diameter substantially smaller than that of the adjacent end of the cylinder, means for continuously directing the fluid at super-atmos pheric pressure into each of said chambers and through the inlets in said plates adjacent the ends of the cylinder toward the ends of the piston to maintain a pressure differential between each chamber and the adjacent region in said cylinder between each plate and the adjacent end of the piston, and axially spaced outlets positioned in the wall of the cylinder intermediate the air inlet passages so as to be alternately opened and closed by the piston as it moves back and forth in the cylinder.

3. Apparatus for traversing a strand which comprises a hollow cylinder having an opening along one side thereof, a cylindrical guide element positioned within the cylinder for reciporcatory movement therein, the element having means on its periphery adapted to serve as a guide for the strand by contact therewith through the opening in the cylinder and means for reciprocating the guide in the cylinder including means for supplying a fluid at super-atmospheric pressure to the ends of the cylinder for movement in a spiral path along the length of the cylinder toward the ends of the guide element to cause the element to rotate about its axis as it reciprocates in the cylinder.

4. Apparatus for traversing a strand which comprises a hollow cylinder having an opening along one side of the cylinder, two piston sections mounted in the cyl'mder, a cylindrical element mounted between the piston sections and in contact therewith, the cylindrical element being provided with means on its periphery adapted to guide the strand and means for reciprocating the piston sections and guide element in the cylinder including means for supplying a fluid at super-atmospheric pressure to the ends of the cylinder for movement in a spiral path along the length of the cylinder toward the ends of the piston sections to cause the piston sections and element to rotate about their axes as they reciprocate in the cylinder.

5. Apparatus as described in claim 3 wherein the cylindrical element is provided with vanes on its ends to aid in the imparting of rotating movement to the cylindrical element by means of the fluid.

6. Apparatus for traversing a strand which comprises a hollow cylinder having an opening along one side thereof, a piston positioned in the cylinder, means on the periphery of the piston adapted to guide the strand by contact therewith through the opening in the cylinder, means for reciprocating the piston, vanes at the ends of the piston to aid in imparting a rotating movement to the piston and thus the guide element.

7. Apparatus for traversing a strand which comprises a hollow cylinder having an opening along one side thereof, two piston sections positioned in the cylinder, a replaceable strand guide mounted between the piston sections in contact therewith, the guide being adapted to engage a strand through the opening in the cylinder, means for reciprocating the piston sections and guide, the piston sections being provided at their ends facing the ends of the cylinder with vanes to aid in imparting a rotating movement to the guide element and piston sections.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 535,463 Rinsche Mar. 12, 1895 1,748,953 Greve Mar. 4, 1930 2,030,936 Pickop a- Feb. 18, 1936 2,548,523" Dyer et al Apr. 10, 1951 2,821,962 Swanson Feb. 4, 1958 2,861,548 Burgess et a1 Nov. 25, 1958 OTHER REFERENCES German application 1,054,888, printed April 9, 1959. 

1. APPARATUS FOR IMPARTING VIBRATORY MOTION WHICH COMPRISES A HOLLOW CYLINDER HAVING OPEN ENDS PROVIDING ACCESS TO SAID CYLINDER, AN AIR SUPPLY CHAMBER AT EACH END OF SAID CYLINDER CONNECTED TO THE ADJACENT OPENING THEREIN, A PLATE AT EACH END OF SAID CYLINDER BETWEEN SAID CYLINDER AND SAID AIR SUPPLY CHAMBER EXTENDING ACROSS THE OPENING THEREBETWEEN, A PISTON POSITIONED IN THE CYLINDER FOR RECIPROCATORY MOVEMENT THEREIN, EACH OF SAID PLATES HAVING FORMED THEREIN A FLUID INLET PASSAGE OF A DIAMETER SUBSTANTIALLY SMALLER THAN THAT OF THE ADJACENT END OF THE CYLINDER, MEANS FOR CONTINUOUSLY DIRECTING A FLUID AT SUPER-ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE INTO EACH OF SAID CHAMBERS AND THROUGH THE INLETS IN SAID PLATES ADJACENT THE ENDS OF THE CYLINDER TOWARD THE ENDS OF THE PISTON TO MAINTAIN A PRESSURE DIFFERENTIAL BETWEEN EACH CHAMBER AND THE ADJACENT REGION IN SAID CYLINDER BETWEEN EACH PLATE AND THE ADJACENT END OF THE PISTON, AND AXIALLY SPACED OUTLETS POSITIONED IN THE WALL OF THE CYLINDER INTERMEDIATE THE FLUID INLET PASSAGES SO AS TO BE ALTERNATELY OPENED AND CLOSED BY THE PISTON AS IT MOVES BACK AND FORTH IN THE CYLINDER. 